There are some Android consumers out there with their manufacturer that get to try out pre-release software on their devices to help \u201ciron out the kinks\u201d before the mass release. HTC just created its Consumer Preview program for its own users to try out hardware and software before the public lays eyes on it for the first time.<\/p>\n
Sony has its share of pre-release testers, with Sony fan site Xperia Blog having the pre-released Android Marshmallow update in its grasp. Of a few changes Sony intends to make within Android Marshmallow, one major change pertains to the removal of pre-installed apps. Sony will now allow Xperia users (the Z5, Z5 Compact, and Z5 Premium receiving Android Marshmallow first) the opportunity to delete apps that come with the phone right out of the box.<\/p>\n
Now, before you get excited and fly off into singing and dancing, there is something you must know: not all pre-installed apps can be deleted. With the desktop screenshot above, apps such as 1) Contacts, 2) Downloads, 3) Music, 4) Play Store, 5) Settings, and 6) Phone cannot be deleted. Outside of that, there are tons of apps that can be deleted, such as 1) Clock, 2) Google Drive, 3) Gmail, 4) Google Search, 5) Google+, 6) Google Maps, 7) Google Photos, 8) Play Movies & TV, 9) Play Music, 10) Voice Search, and 11) YouTube.<\/p>\n
If these changes make their way to the final Android Marshmallow release, then Sony Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact, and Z5 Premium users will get to delete most Google apps on their phone \u2014 meaning that you don\u2019t have to fall in love with Google on mobile if you don\u2019t want to. You can\u2019t delete the Play Store, for example, so you\u2019ll still have to contend with that (but everything else can be deleted). With the approval of deleting Google+, it seems as though Google is no longer forcing its social network on everyone as it had before. We don\u2019t suggest deleting Google Photos, as it offers unlimited photo cloud storage for 1080p and lower resolution photos, but some individuals will use a cloud storage provider they trust (Microsoft OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, etc.). Some Android OEMs like HTC, Samsung, LG, and others have their own photo and cloud storage apps and customers may want to use those instead of Google\u2019s.<\/p>\n
What do you think of the new changes in Android Marshmallow? Are you excited to see this power come to Sony Xperia devices? Is this not a big deal to you, and you wish Sony would add more native storage so that you wouldn\u2019t need an SD card?<\/p>\n